Word of the Day : July 31, 2019

importune \im-per-TOON\ verb

Definition

1 a : to press or urge with troublesome persistence

b archaic : to request or beg for urgently

2 : annoy, trouble

Did You Know?

Importune has many synonyms—including beg, entreat, beseech, and implore. Beg suggests earnestness or insistence especially in asking for a favor ("the children begged to stay up late"). Entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance ("she entreated him to change his mind"). Beseech implies great eagerness or anxiety ("I beseech you to have mercy"), and implore adds to beseech a suggestion of greater urgency or anguished appeal ("he implored her not to leave him"). But it is importune that best conveys irritating doggedness in trying to break down resistance to a request and the accompanying annoyance ("the filmmakers were importuning viewers for contributions"), as it has since Middle English speakers adopted it from Anglo-French.

Aired July 31, 2019

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